Custom

Details

Date Published

Date Built

CPU Clock Rate

CPU Temperature While Idle

37.0° C

CPU Temperature Under Load

72.0° C

GPU Core Clock Rate

2.04 GHz

GPU Effective Memory Clock Rate

16 GHz

GPU Temperature While Idle

36.0° C

GPU Temperature Under Load

70.0° C

Description

Here we go again! I don't know what to say except I finally built my dream PC! The Ryzen 9 3900X was the perfect choice for my PC as I not only game on it, but I also do video/photo editing, stream, and use virtual machines (hence the 64GB of RAM). Going into this build, I wanted it to be ASUS ROG themed with RGB everywhere. In addition to that, I also made it space themed as I absolutely love this wallpaper I have. One of my favorite things about this PC is that all my RGB can be tied under two programs, ASUS Aura (Armoury Crate) and Project Aurora (using Logitech G Hub and SteelSeries Engine to connect to the program). Overall, I am quite satisfied with this build and how everything just works.

Of course, with all good builds, a few snags happened during the process. The first issue was stock as I originally wanted to go with the Crosshair VIII Hero WiFi and the RTX 2080 Ti Matrix, but both were out of stock. I decided on the Crosshair VIII Formula and Strix RTX 2080 Ti OC instead. The next hiccup happened in the form of Amazon sending me the 1TB 860 QVO instead of the 4TB 860 QVO, which was quickly resolved due to their great return policy. With both issues resolved, I was finally able to complete the build and I am thoroughly impressed.

Motherboard

I'm going to go ahead and say this, buy the Crosshair VIII Hero (WiFi) instead of this. This motherboard is pointless but I love it. The LiveDash display on top of the I/O is nice to have for quickly checking CPU temperatures. RGB is really nice on this board and all my other components synchronize with it nicely using the Armoury Crate program.

Storage

4TB of fast SSD storage. Great for all of my games and virtual machines. I use an NVMe SSD for boot, but I really would only recommend the 860 QVO as a storage/games SSD due to the use of QLC NAND flash.

Video Card

One of the best air cooled 2080 Ti cards on the market. Looks beautiful, runs a +1000 memory clock like a champ, and stays at or below 70°C at all times. Frame rates are insane on my 1440p 144Hz monitor.

Case

Breathtaking. This case has two front 200mm ARGB fans to keep the system cool, tempered glass everywhere, and loads of customization. The back side has panels that hide your cabling so you don't even need to use zip ties if you don't want to. Front I/O is quite generous as well with 4 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports and 1 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port along with the typical headphone and microphone jacks.

Power Supply

Quality unit. Based off the Seasonic PRIME Ultra Platinum series, this unit does not disappoint. The OLED displaying power draw is a nice bonus and I feel more manufacturers should consider doing this. RGB is also a nice touch as well.

Monitor

1440p 144Hz? Check. 1ms GtG response time? Check. Excellent colors and viewing angles? Check. RGB? Check. This monitor met my all my criteria and has impressed me. I love being able to customize the RGB through SteelSeries software (hoping for Aurora integration soon to sync with all my other RGB peripherals) and it's just an overall nice package. Bought two of them.

Keyboard

This keyboard is an interesting one. It offers a traditional keycap layout (so I can easily put custom keycaps on) and offers RGB through Aura/Armoury Crate. What disappoints me is that despite having an ASUS motherboard and an ASUS keyboard, I cannot access my BIOS with this keyboard. Beautiful board however.

Mouse

I may be a bit biased here, but the G502 is the best damn mouse I have ever used. I have owned the Proteus Core, the Proteus Spectrum, and now the Lightspeed. This mouse not only fits my big meaty claws, but it's also the first gaming mouse I have owned that hasn't broke within a year. When I saw the G502 was going to get wireless, I was instantly sold.

Headphones

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how a gaming headset should be made. Take an already existing good platform (Takstar Pro82s), attach a microphone to them, and make a few other minor tweaks and you have one of the best gaming headsets/closed back headphones for under $100. Extremely comfortable as well. Purchased per recommendation from Z Reviews.

Comments

How does the ryujin 360 cool the 3900x? I've read that the orientation of the pump might be important for cooling properly. Some people with other AIOs reported that they had to rotate the pump a quarter turn to cool properly.

I haven't seen temps above 72°C. You definitely need to adjust the fan curve in AI Suite as it's quite loud by default. I'm using PBO + AutoOC with a +200 MHz offset along with a standard installation of the AIO.

I get around 4400 MB/s read and 4000 MB/s write in CrystalDiskMark with this SSD. It’s among the top SSDs currently on the market. While this is my first Sabrent, I have recommended their drives in the past with no issues whatsoever. Right now ADATA and Western Digital don’t have PCIe 4.0 SSDs on the market so I can’t really compare this to them.

Just wanted to point out from your review on the Crosshair VIII Formula: That board is meant for custom loops. If you are going with an AIO, the Hero model is superior not only because of its price, but because the VRMs get proper cooling with air, compared to the Formula's waterblock.

What kind of power draw do you get on the oled display when you stress test your pc? I have a similar setup and was wondering if i should get the thor 850 or 1200. Also does the psu get hot since the fan is at the top drawing air down and you have the shroud on? Ps great build!

At the time of purchase (roughly a day after Ryzen 3000 launch), the Sabrent was the cheapest PCIe 4.0 NVMe on the market. I would have gone for the MP600 had it been cheaper at the time. However, I do realize I paid an early adopters tax for all of this.